136 | HARPER’S BAZAAR | December 2019 http://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk
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TIMELESS
TR E ASUR ES
Ever since the Queen met Donald Trump on his first
state visit to the UK last year wearing an agate pin
given to her by the Obamas, and in doing so sent
the internet into a frenzy, power brooches have
been firmly back on fashion’s radar. A similar
online frisson ensued after Lady Hale delivered
her verdict on the prorogation of Parliament
sporting a crystal tarantula on her right shoulder
(a statement on the tangled web of Westminster?)
and Angelina Jolie premiered her latest film, Maleficent:
Mistress of Evil, with a 50-carat diamond scorpion sparkling
on her dress. Add to that the array of brooches on the A/W
catwalks (safety pins at Versace, starbursts at Erdem,
beribboned bouquets at Dolce & Gabbana) and it seems everyone
is wearing their heart on their lapel these days.
It’s timely, then, that Tiffany & Co’s latest haute couture col-
lection is centred for the first time around a set of 11 brooches.
‘For me, as a designer, these pieces serve a practical purpose
beyond looking wonderful on the richer, more ornate fabrics
that are in fashion now,’ says Reed Krakoff, Tiffany & Co’s
chief artistic officer. ‘They are the ideal form for displaying
rare and unusual gemstones, which are always at the heart
of our couture jewellery. With rings or pendants, there are
issues of scale or wearability, but pins offer an easy, sculp-
tural way of framing exquisite gems.’ For one brooch, a black
opal cabochon weighing more than 37 carats is delicately
wrapped in a simple ‘ribbon’ of baguette diamonds, allowing
it s lu st re to glow u n i mpe de d. I n a not her, a n i mpre s sive emer a ld-
cut stone shines out from a modernist setting of folded gold. There
are accompanying ring, earring and necklace sets too, of course, but the
brooches are the glittering stars of this show.
The collection also provided Krakoff with the chance to show off Tiffany’s
in-house craftsmanship at its finest. ‘High-jewellery customers are able to buy
the best in the world, so I wanted to make a point of difference – bringing
together all of our iconic symbols and creating precious vessels in which to
keep them, too.’ His favourite examples are a sapphire and diamond
butterfly, perched on a solid-gold twig and housed in its own
blown-crystal jar, and a gold locket containing a heart-shaped
brooch with unique, jagged-cut rubies – a feat of engineering that
took months, according to Krakoff. The results were well worth it.
‘It’s so distinctive that, whether you see it in its little box or outside on
someone’s coat, it could really only be from Tiffany.’
The ‘Blue Book Collection’ is available to view as part of Tiffany & Co’s ‘Vision
& Virtuosity’ exhibition, which runs until 10 November at the Fosun Found-
ation, Shanghai, and then at 25 Old Bond Street, London W1.
JEWELLERY
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PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF TIFFANY & CO